Sir John Soane’s Museum is the extraordinary house and museum of the British architect Sir John Soane (1753-1837). Sir John Soane’s Museum occupies three buildings, Nos 12, 13, and 14 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Sir John Soane acquired and rebuilt each of these buildings during his lifetime. With a collection containing thousands of objects ranging from Ancient Egyptian antiquities and Roman sculpture to models of contemporary buildings, Soane’s house had become a Museum by the time of his death.
Member:
- Institutional Member
- Europe, United Kingdom
Institutional Member
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Dome space, photographer Gareth Gardner
Dome space. ©Gareth Gardner
Model room (recently conserved), photographer Gareth Gardner
Model room (recently conserved). ©Gareth Gardner
Picture Room (wide shot) photo Gareth Gardner
Picture Room.©Gareth Gardner
The Sepulchral Chamber and the Sarcophagus of Seti I lit by candlelight, photographer Gareth Gardner
The Sepulchral Chamber and the Sarcophagus of Seti I. ©Gareth Gardner
The South Drawing Room, photographer Gareth Gardner
The South Drawing Room. ©Gareth Gardner
Collection
Focus: House and collection of Sir John Soane (1753-1837). A static collection, but may occasionally add to Library, Drawings Collection or Archive. Consists of: antiquities (Greek, Roman, Egyptian), 18th and early 19th-century paintings and sculpture; furniture; plaster casts; 30,000 architectural drawings (15th-19th centuries); documents/correspondence; models; building fragments; ephemera all collected by Sir John Soane and preserved as they were arranged at the time of his death in 1837. Strengths: collection of 30,000 architectural drawings, including Soane’s own & 9,000 by Robert Adam and many by William Chambers and George Dance the younger; the ancient Egyptian sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti 1st; two series of Hogarth paintings (A Rake’s Progress and An Election); paintings by Canaletto and Turner; original drawings by Piranesi; architectural models, including early 19th century cork models; Soane’s papers and those of subsequent curators; authentic interiors of Soane house; information files on Soane’s work & that of other architects whose drawings are in the collection.Library Holdings
Holdings: Soane’s library of 8,000 volumes (all pre-1837); small collection of modern reference works, architectural drawings (see above) available in Research Library where items from Soane’s Archive may also be consulted by appointment.Other Members:
